Agreement Will Allow Schools to Be Built on Historic L.A. Site

The Los Angeles Unified School District has reached an agreement that will allow it to begin immediate construction of schools on the site of the historic Ambassador Hotel.

In a deal approved by the school board this month, the district will pay $4.5 million to establish a “historic-resources investment fund” to operate as an endowment and provide grants to the district to repair and conserve some elements of the hotel.

The money will be administered by a six-member board made up of representatives of the district, the Los Angeles Conservancy, and other community and preservation groups that sued the district over its plans to turn the district-owned site into classroom space.

The hotel is considered significant because it was a popular gathering spot for celebrities and the site of the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.

The district said it expects to begin construction immediately, with the three schools scheduled to open in 2008 and 2009.